Tragic
Krzysztof Nowak: Wolfgang Wolf fought back tears. The hard-nosed Palatinate native, a tough opponent in 248 Bundesliga matches for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, could barely contain his emotions. In November 2002, as Nowak's illness became public, the Wolfsburg coach took an honour lap with his stricken midfielder in the stadium that would soon no longer host Bundesliga matches. Nowak, diagnosed with ALS, died on May 26, 2005 at the age of just 29.
At the time Wolf and Nowak took that honour lap, the midfielder had already lost most of his motor functions. ALS — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — had stripped away the body of a professional athlete in a matter of months. The Wolfsburg public paid tribute to their stricken hero.
"Numb and weak" — that is how Nowak described the first symptoms of his illness. A numbness in the arms was the first sign. What followed was a rapid and merciless deterioration. The Polish international, once one of the most elegant midfielders in the Bundesliga, became a symbol of how fragile life can be.
Junior Malanda: Junior Malanda was running late. The Wolfsburg player, signed from Zulte Waregem in 2013 for a fee of €1.7 million, had missed the Wolves' departure for their winter training camp in Cape Town, South Africa because he absolutely had to attend a New Year's Eve party. On January 10, 2015, the 20-year-old Belgian died in a car accident on the A2 motorway near Porta Westfalica. German football lost one of its most exciting young talents.
In the Bundesliga opener of the 2014/15 season at FC Bayern München (1-2), all of football Germany witnessed what this young man was capable of. Fearless, athletic and technically gifted, Malanda had the world at his feet. His death shook the entire Bundesliga.
The match between chasers Wolfsburg and runaway leaders Bayern München became one of the most emotional in Bundesliga history. The Wolves won 4-1, and the performance was dedicated to Malanda. His number 19 shirt hung in the dugout throughout the match.